Cerulean Cuckooshrike
Coracina temminckii
A large, uniform blue-gray cuckooshrike with a rather long tail, a pale eye, and a black mark between the bill and the eye. Juveniles show barred underparts. Singles, pairs, or small groups inhabit the canopy of montane forest in the foothills and higher. Often joins mixed-species flocks. The only entirely bluish-gray cuckooshrike with a pale eye on Sulawesi. Gives a harsh, rasping “shhhhhhchu” call as well as a very high-pitched “sweee-sweee-sweee” that rises in volume at the end.
Identification
The adult cerulean cuckooshrike is a distinctive bird and is about 30 cm (12 in) long. The male is greyish-blue, tinged with cobalt blue on wings and tail.
Taxonomy
The cerulean cuckooshrike was first described by the German naturalist Salomon Müller in 1843. The specific name honours the Dutch zoologist and ornithologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck, the director of the National Natural History Museum at Leiden who had sent Müller to the East Indies to collect specimens. Three subspecies are recognised; C. t. temminckii from the northern peninsula of Sulawesi, C. t. rileyi from central and southeastern Sulawesi and C. t. tonkeana from eastern Sulawesi.
- Scientific name
- Coracina temminckii
- Authority
- (Müller, S, 1843)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Campephagidae
- Genus
- Coracina
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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